


Passing the Test (The Gauntlet)

by smithy_of_words



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Fix-It, liminal space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 10:11:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5044321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smithy_of_words/pseuds/smithy_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Making everyone feel better after the agony that was playing through one, or both, of the possible endings in Episode 5.<br/>A special guest makes an appearance...of sorts.<br/>Unbeta'd.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Passing the Test (The Gauntlet)

Max sat on a pile of rubble near the cairn that was somehow still standing near the partially-wrecked lighthouse, head in hands.

Chloe was standing, stock-still, staring down at what used to be Arcadia Bay beneath the cliffs.

It was almost half an hour before either one of them said anything or made an attempt to move.

Finally, Chloe padded over quietly and put her hand on Max's shoulder.

"Time to go see what's what."

Max just nodded and stood, feeling her bones creak, as though all the timelines she'd lived through had caused her to increase her age a hundred times over.

Mark Jefferson had talked about a loss of innocence, and he was fucked up, but also partially right; if anything would cause a loss of childhood, this would be it.

The two made their way down the precarious cliff, being careful to avoid the few downed power lines and unstable-looking trees in their path.

Finally, they were back on the main drag, and it looked like hell on Earth. 

Max took a shuttering breath and closed her eyes, willing her body to still itself before she started sobbing and couldn't make herself stop.

Chloe took hold of her arm tightly, pressing herself close to Max's side, and they began to walk.

Debris was everywhere, and it looked like all the homes and businesses had been put in a blender and spat out on the ground, so that bits of homes across town lay where the gas station used to be...and well--everywhere. 

Few identifiable features remained, save the Two Whales Diner. 

Max scoffed internally. Because of course that would be standing.

Chloe's eyes darted to Max, and they both nodded.

Time to face what had been done.

Max and Chloe grunted as they shifted away a piece of sheet metal from the entrance, throwing it to the pavement with a  _bang._

Chloe's hand shook around the door handle, before gripping it tight and striding forward.

Max felt dizzy as she followed Chloe up the steps into the hall.

"Mom?" She heard Chloe call. It sounded like she was a child again--small and afraid after a nightmare.

Max's heart sunk in her chest. There wasn't any reply.

Until there was.

"Hello? Is someone out there? Chloe?" A far-away voice seemed to call.

"Mom? Mom! Where are you? It's Chloe and Max. We're here." Chloe called out frantically.

"We're in the store-room in the back. Part of Frank's trailer broke off and ended up getting stuck in the wall. It took most of the brunt of the storm for us, thank God. We're okay, but don't worry about us. Go outside and look for people who really need help. We'll find a way to get out of here and meet back with you at Blackwell, okay?" Joyce's muffled voice was shaken but resolute.

Chloe wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes, "Okay. Oh, God, Mom, I'm so glad you're okay. We're going to go help as many people as possible, and I'll see you later."

\---

The next few hours felt like the longest day Max had ever experienced--time-travelling experiences included.

Bits of sheet metal, plaster, brick, and cement were all over the town, and as Chloe and Max looked for more survivors, only the creaking remains of structures and low burning fires remained.

It was surprisingly shocking how few bodies there were. 

Luckily, the tornado had been seen by an enterprising fisherman off the coast who called it in to the Coast Guard. 

The local weather crew confirmed it by satellite image, and in just under two hours almost the entire town had evacuated further inland. Local school buses were used to ferry people away from the town, and the basement of Blackwall was used as emergency shelter for those too weak or elderly to get away.

The only deaths were those who refused to listen to the warnings, like in so many other disasters. Everyone thought that it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, the Pacific Northwest hardly ever gets any tornados, right? _  
_

Not that it made seeing corpses any easier. Those images would never leave those who saw them.

After they had made a few sweeps of the downtown area, Chloe and Max walked further up the road, toward Blackwell, passing firefighters and emergency crews along the way who had come from as far as Portland when they heard the news.

Chloe took a moment to explain where she knew some survivors had been trapped, and they continued on. There would be time for seeing family later. Max pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw there was no service. That made sense, seeing as all the local towers were near the coast. She winced, thinking about calling her parents later. She'd be lucky if they ever let her out of their sight again for more than five minutes after this.

\---

Blackwell looked like pictures Max had seen of London during the Blitz. Some of the buildings stood, but some were crumbled like nothing--just piles of brick and rubble.

Seeing as it was listed as an emergency evacuation zone by the local authorities, there were swarms of relief workers on the property, lifting beams of wood away, and using dogs to search for anyone caught in the wreckage.

The main building had to be cleared before anyone could enter, due to fears about gas lines and electrical wiring causing fires or explosions after the fact.

Once the fire marshall had cleared the premises, Max and Chloe rushed forward, clambering over piles of debris and hurrying down to open the doors to the storage room in the basement where they knew any survivors would be.

Worry settled into Max's gut as she wondered what and who they would find below.

But as soon as Chloe had wrenched open the door, nearly pulling the battered metal from its frame, Kate Marsh barreled right into Max's arms, sobbing.

"Oh, Max. Thank God, thank God you're alive! And Chloe, oh my God."

Max clutched Kate in her arms tightly, letting her tears soak into the front of her already drying sweatshirt.

Behind them, Chloe was helping haul people to the ground floor--Stella, Alyssa, Evan, Brook, Dana--even Victoria was there. And Max grinned a watery smile to see all of them safe and whole.

She wasn't sure if she believed in God, but she sure believed in something...

and then there was darkness.

Max could hear Chloe calling her name, but it sounded so far away. 

It couldn't be too bad if she took a nap, right?

She was so tired. So very...tired...

\---

Max sat up with a start, head pounding again.

"Oh, fuck, what's wrong now?" She moaned, pressing her hands to her temples.

Her head whipped up as she heard the sounds of footsteps clicking toward her, like boot heels on linoleum.

The noise stopped.

A young woman who Max had only ever seen in photos crouched down before her, smiling sweetly.

"R-Rachel? Rachel Amber? Is it really you?" Max stared, wide-eyed.

Rachel nodded sagely, "Mmhmm. I finally get to meet you. I said I would, right?"

Max blinked, remembering the text from her nightmare.  _We'll meet, soon._

"Holy shit. I thought that was part of my fucked up dream."

"It was. But don't try to think too hard about it. I mean, you've already got a headache, right?" Rachel moved to sit cross-legged in front of Max.

Max wrapped her arms around herself like a hug to stop herself from shaking.

"So...so what? This is like Dumbledore at King's Cross Station? I'm dead..or-or not...or some shit? Where are we, anyway?"

Max looked around. It was like being part of a giant green-screen. There was no sense of distance or space at all. Like they could be suspended anywhere.

Rachel laughed, "No, not quite. Though that would be pretty sweet. Although, we are in-between..."

A doe  _clip-clopped_ up behind Rachel and nuzzled her hair softly.

"I'm so fucking confused. In-between where?"

The doe flickered and was gone.

Rachel smiled, standing, and helped pull Max to her feet.

They were on the cliff by the lighthouse now.

"You said it called to you, right? That you felt you were being watched? That was me. You seriously think I'd leave my best friend to deal with this shit on her own?" Rachel gestured at the sea below them absently.

"Chloe..." Max whispered, "The doe I saw. That was you?"

Rachel appeared behind Max on a tree stump.

"Pretty clever, huh? I always liked them. I thought you might see it and think of me. You even have that necklace, right?"

Max looked down at her neck, where a gold pendant of a doe now hung from a shining chain. Had that always been there?

Rachel looked pleased with herself and smirked a bit. "I'm just that good."

Max felt herself feeling wobbly again and moved to sit on the ground in front of the stump where Rachel sat.

"So, are you a ghost? Or a spirit or something? How did you know where I'd go? What I'd do?"

Rachel patted Max on the head like one would a small child, chuckling faintly, "When I died, I was so fucking mad. So angry. I wanted this town to burn--to suffer, like I had suffered. Especially Mark Jefferson. He said he loved me, and for a while I almost believed it. I wanted to believe it. Frank, Chloe, the kids at school...I wanted to feel loved so fucking bad, so I took it from everyone. And this place used me. I wanted to wipe it off the face of the earth. So when  _surprise, surprise_ I woke up here," she gestured around where they sat, "I was going to fuck shit up. And I was going to enjoy doing it. That storm was my revenge."

Max nodded, brow furrowed, "I understand that. But unless I'm wrong, almost nobody died. The town is mostly screwed to hell, but the people...they're...we're okay, right?"

Rachel sighed, "Yeah. You are. The thing about this place is that I get to see everything. And I did a lot of watching. I looked at Chloe a lot, and not like you're thinking, perv. Just while she was sleeping, or hanging out with you, or whatever," she laughed harshly, "not in the toilet or something. I'm dead, but I know my boundaries. So...like I said, I watched, and I gotta be honest, at first I was pissed off at you; some girl from Chloe's past shows up and replaces me? I was her angel, and here you were, having all kinds of fun adventures--breaking into the school to swim at night, shooting bottles, solving crimes--all while I was rotting underneath your very feet."

Max felt her eyes fill with tears again, "Rachel, I'm so sorry. We didn't know. I didn't know. Otherwise I would've done something. Gone back to save you..."

Rachel smiled kindly, "I know you would've if you could, Max. You've got a good heart. You and Chloe both do, and you both deserve to be happy, no matter what. Now," she cleared her throat, "Before I get sappy, I just wanted to thank you. I was ready to screw over this whole place and turn it to dust and ash. But you helped these people, no matter what it took. You really are an 'everyday hero.' And look at you--still here, and still helping me."

Max shook her head, "No, I completely fucked up. People have died because of me. The town is ruined, and it's all my fault."

Rachel stood up and stretched like a cat in the sunshine.

"No. You did the best you could under the circumstances. After all, you wouldn't have gotten your powers if I didn't think you could stop what I'd started. I'm proud of you. And...thank you."

Max's eyes looked bigger than the plates at the Two Whales. "Wait. You gave me my powers? Are...are you God, or something?"

All of a sudden Max felt her heartbeat rushing in her ears, like holding up a shell to them at the beach and trying to "hear the ocean."

_Woosh-woosh...woosh-woosh..._

The sound got louder and louder and Max clutched her head, tears streaming down her face. Before she squeezed her eyes shut, she almost missed hearing Rachel's echoing chuckle and words.

"...or something."

\---

"Max? Max! Max! Can you hear me? Are you okay? Max!" Chloe was kneeling beside her, shaking her shoulders desperately.

"Rachel?...ugh," Max groaned, eyes fluttering open.

Chloe shook her head, "No, it's me, Chloe. Max, are you okay? You just passed out like before. Hit the ground like a sack of potatoes."

Max moved to sit up, but someone's arm pressed against hers to keep her lying down.

A stranger smiled down at her, worry in their eyes. "Glad you're awake. You were out for a long time. My guess? Shock and maybe a combination of dehydration and lack of food. When's the last time you ate or drank anything?"

Chloe wiped her eyes, "Don't you ever do that to me again, okay? This week has been too fucking crazy, and I don't need this on top of it."

Max smiled weakly, looking down at the IV drip that was in her arm with a grimace, "I'll try not to faint again. Or...look at that. I'm not big on needles, especially after..."

Chloe nodded, understanding like maybe no one else alive in the world could.

The paramedic patted them both on the arms reassuringly, "I'm going to go check on some other people. We've got some broken arms and minor head injuries. Stay here and don't move, okay? Someone will be back to check on you soon."

Chloe brushed Max's bangs out of her eyes gently, feeling the cooling sweat there. "You really freaked me out, man. I mean it, don't do that again. So...what was up? Another nightmare? You said--"

"Rachel," Max swallowed, "I saw her. Or, I thought I saw her. But it made no sense. We were in a white weird space, then on the cliff, and she was there, then not there...Chloe, God, it was so hella insane. I must've hit my head. It still kinda hurts."

Chloe shook her head, leaning down to open Max's right hand that was clenched into a white-knuckled fist. "Look."

A small golden deer pendant gleamed in Max's hand.

She gasped and dropped it in her surprise.

Chloe bent down and brushed the dirt from it, dangling it from between her fingers, "You weren't wearing this when I was with you before, right? I thought this was the one you lost when we were kids...slipped down the sewer grate by accident. How did this get here, unless--"

"Rachel..." Max finished her thought, "It had to be. She drew us here, together, and guided us, like a ghost...or...Kate Marsh will want to hear about this."

Chloe's eyes began to fill with tears, but a huge grin was on her face for the first time in days. 

"Does this mean we have to go to church now? Because I'm not singing kumbaya with my step-father."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed it.  
> I honestly cried so much at both endings, so I'm basically retconning them both and making this my headcanon for what really happened. It's up to you, though. Is Rachel a spirit who had power through the sheer force of will, bending things to fit her conception of how things could be (not unlike Max)? Or is she God? Or something else?  
> As always, thoughts and critique are welcome. I sat down and wrote this in one mass effort, so I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors. Thanks for reading. : )


End file.
